The Wii U will soon be able to accept NFC payments

NFC payments are a common thing with smartphones, but now the Wii U will be joining the ranks of devices that are able to accept NFC payments. Starting July 22, Wii U owners in Japan will be able to purchase digital money cards that can be used to buy things on the Nintendo eShop.

Nintendo says several digital cards sold in Japan will work with this system, including Suica, Pasmo Kitaca, Toica, Manaca, Icoca and more. These payment cards are embedded with IC chips and are often used to purchase train or bus tickets, or to buy things at a convenience store. The reason Japan has so many different cards is because they serve regional areas.

This change will come with firmware 5.1.0. There’s no mention of when this will be available outside of Japan, but given the fact NFC payment services like Google Wallet and ISIS exist here in the United States, it could be a feature that expands to the rest of the world soon.

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So the Wii U is going to be the first and only current gen console to do this? Cool

D.M.T

And yet haters and dumbasses think the Wii U is not a current gen console. The Wii U is more innovative than both the PS4 and Xbox One.

matthew garcia

the Wii u is more innovative by far. Just hasn’t been utilized properly. I guess just Nintendo land really does

00EpicGamer00

And Game and Wario. It’s a crappy game but it uses the gamepad for the purpose it was made for. Actually…I think the only Nintendo games so far that actually use the gamepad in “unique ways”, is Nintendo land and Game and Wario.

Squid

Seeing this was the top gift for platinum rewards I was disappointed, I hope next year we have Captain Toad or Yarn Yoshi.

2Макс2

hands off from game and wario! it has awesome single player games (except photographer one). the only bad thing about them – very few levels.

00EpicGamer00

The reason why it’s a crappy game to me is because of the few levels it has. And the games themselves get pretty boring after maybe like, the 5th play through. I honestly like Mario Party 9 more than Game and Wario. Yes, call me the demon child, I like the Mario Party game that apparently everyone in the world hates.

2Макс2

the only party game i’ve played so far was wii party u, which sucks (2 so-so games out of 40 BS ones)! As for wario game – it’s multiplayer part is sooo small that the whole game may be considered a single player release. as for me i return to passed level from time to time, not playing it constantly, and never get bored;) Of course that doesn’t mean it should feel the same to everybody))

thedeciderU

i enjoyed zombiu. it was immersive and made the game more intense/scarier.

Dark Lord Sauron

but ubisoft should of made sure zombiu was release glitched free but they didnt fix the game till after its release

thedeciderU

besides games developed by nintendo, aren’t most games these days released with a ton of issues? i’m not saying making games is easy, but these publishers just don’t give a shit. all they want is their tax break and their golden parachutes. and yes, i know there are many quality games besides nintendo, but i’m just trying to make a point.

Squid

Play Lego City Undercover, past the load times that has pretty fun uses of the gamepad.

I can see why there’s no on screen notifications on Wii U. I was watching a movie on my PS4 when I got several on screen notifications of people coming online. It was a distraction to me. It’s not a big deal though since I was distracted for like 1 second each time.

….the blue light is annoying, way more annoying then any on screen notification would be
blue light shines and you have no idea what its for you so you have to pause whatever you are doing just to check it

https://www.imthegoddamnbatman.com Gamer Mania

Better than having several pictures appear on screen whilst playing a game and end up losing.

ActivesiN

if they put on screen notifications its not like you will be forced to use it, there would be an option to disable it and stay with the blue light. I don’t understand why anyone wants less options

RedChu

They could give developers the option to place and size them accordingly in order to fit them in without it getting in the way of the game.

https://www.imthegoddamnbatman.com Gamer Mania

It’d still annoy me though.
I get pissed off when Steam does it when I do something in a game.

RedChu

I’ll admit that they do get annoying, especially when they keep popping up; I get annoyed by the notifications on Xbox even when I’m not the one playing. I guess they could allow you to disable popup notifications or something… or just not add them in at all, which in all honesty is most likely.

steveb944

It’s already trouble enough for developers to make games for us, let’s not add more fuel to the fire.

~OMEGA~

i wouldn’t mind a little Mii-head notification in the top right corner tbph

Michael Legault

Or they could just have a tiny notice come up only on the gamepad, that could work.

David Horowitz

How about having the blue light flash notifications in Morse Code? 😀

Yoshiwhirlwind

I remember turning off trophy notifications on my ps3, I’ve never felt so free.

ActivesiN

at least you have the option lol

David Trail

The red light is the notifications.

ActivesiN

the red light?, the red light is for when the battery is dying
the notification light is blue

Vorpal Blade

Awesome!

Rinslowe

First they made it all easier with touch input to menu and E-shop navigation. Now NFC payments. Streamlining it…

Sdudyoy

Doesn’t sound like a feature I would ever use, but it still sounds awesome, let me guess, this will become a feature in all 9 generation consoles.

Squid

Nonono, next gen will have Super Master Cheif Bros and The Legend of Ratchet

MarkyWiiU

I don’t know if I’ll ever use this feature but it does sound really cool! I hope they make it a worldwide thing

Rich Garriques

NICE

bistricky

The NFC will be a money-taking machine …… future eShop payments and all those amiibo’s.

uPadWatcher

If MasterCard is Visa are next, the Wii U eShop will have a new meaning to “It’s everywhere U want to be”.

Squid

*Wii took Ur savings.

thedeciderU

Yay, who cares?! Now PLEASE announce Fatal Frame 5 for North America…

Decker Shado

So does this mean we get a Gamepad gif of “IT EATS MONEY!”?

BeanSparrow

can’t wait for the day it comes out. i got my google wallet app ready.

my understanding is that they have different uses. Example, BLE needs to be powered at the signal source. NFC chips don’t require their own power, and instead are powered by the host it communicates with (phone, gamepad).

Bomberman

Cool! So this makes it possible to use my Google Wallet.

Prizm

I had a Suica card when I was in Japan. Originally they were used mainly for rail. You put money on the card and just tag on and off at the train station to deduct the fare.

A – Kuma

that’s kinda scary, one because someones kid may get hold of their card and buy a bunch of games and apps and clean them out, but also for those who have a hard time fighting temptation; rather than being somewhat of a process your purchase is just a quick tap away…

Squid

Kids shouldn’t be able to get a hold of that, but if they do they would probably need that parental pin.

Squid

I have a suica card from my vacation to Japan last year.

Iflywright

About time, I’m really looking forward to using that nfc spot on the gamepad.

Vettori

I don’t know if it is in the realm of possibility, but why not go one further and accept Credit Card payments via pay wave etc >.< Lazy bums like me will have to keep dreaming i guess.